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| A photo of the fatal accident that occurred near Kwa V |
A family in Kwa V, Sagana, Kirinyaga County has been left grieving after a 30-year-old man, Kelvin Kanyoro died hours after rushing to help victims of a fatal road accident near their home.
Kanyoro was among the residents who responded to the crash involving a milk delivery pickup and a 2NK Sacco matatu on Tuesday, November 3, last week. The accident happened just a few metres from his family home prompting him to join other good Samaritans in helping the victims.
According to his father Mathew Githinji, Kelvin returned home after taking part in the rescue efforts but appeared deeply affected by what he had witnessed. His father said he kept asking what would happen to the victims who had been taken to hospital.
He later went to bed with his father describing him as traumatised by the incident.
However, the family became concerned the following morning, Wednesday, November 4 after several attempts to reach went unanswered. They eventually broke into his room where they found him dead.
His sudden death came as a shock to his family and neighbours particularly given that he had spent the previous night helping people involved in the accident.
HOW THE FATAL ACCIDENT HAPPENED
The crash claimed two lives and left nine other people seriously injured. It involved a Toyota Hilux pickup belonging to a milk manufacturing company based in Nyeri and a Toyota matatu operated by 2NK Sacco.
Kirinyaga West Sub-County Police Commander Julius Gaya said the pickup was travelling from Sagana towards Makutano when it suffered a tyre burst causing the driver to lose control.
The vehicle veered off its lane, crossed the central trench separating the two carriageways and crashed head-on into the oncoming matatu which was travelling from Makutano towards Sagana.
The two people who died were the matatu driver and a middle-aged woman believed to have been a passenger.
The nine injured passengers sustained injuries to different parts of their bodies including their faces, heads, legs, hands and chests. Some also complained of general body pain following the impact.
Well-wishers and emergency response teams helped evacuate the injured to Sagana Sub-County Hospital and Kerugoya County Referral Hospital for treatment.
The bodies of the deceased were moved to Kerugoya Mortuary while the wreckage of the two vehicles was towed to Sagana Police Station pending inspection as investigations into the accident continued.
A COMMUNITY MOURNS A SUDDEN LOSS
For Kanyoro's family, the tragedy was made even more painful by the circumstances surrounding his final hours. He had responded to an emergency close to home and joined others in trying to help strangers survive a devastating crash.
His father's account of Kelvin's repeated questions about the injured passengers also highlights how deeply the incident had affected him.
As relatives and neighbours come to terms with his sudden death, his final act of helping accident victims remains a significant part of the story.